


Incentive

by felinedetached



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Cloud Watching, Gen, Ravenclaw Haruno Sakura, Ravenclaw Nara Shikamaru, procrastination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 09:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19207027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felinedetached/pseuds/felinedetached
Summary: Regardless, it's up to Sakura and Sakura alone to get Shikamaru to do things he really,reallydoesn't want to do; which in all honesty, is borderline impossible. She's not going to give up, though - Shikamaru is her friend; and friends don't let friends get chewed out by Mitarashi Anko for not finishing their potions homework on time. Honestly, who let that woman teach - she's a deranged menace, even if she is weirdly good at her job.





	Incentive

Sakura is used to Shikamaru's laziness. He's in her house, after all; she's with him as he doesn't do his homework - he _knows_ the answers, she _knows_ he does - and as he lazes around the tower begging games of wizarding chess off people. Tenten helps her, sometimes, as she cajoles and begs and desperately, _desperately_ , tries _everything_ to get him to listen to her and _do his damn homework_. It's not often, though - Tenten also spends a large amount of time tutoring Hufflepuff's Rock Lee.

Honestly, Sakura would say leave him - he's fine, he can work things out on his own - but he's Tenten's friend (and, somehow, friends with both Neiji and Naruto; which is not something Sakura's going to argue, but. A _Hufflepuff_ and a _Slytherin_? Friends? The world is coming to an end. Naruto isn't actually that surprising, though - he's the worst Slytherin she's ever met.)

(Sometimes, Sakura wishes Tenten would spend more time with her. It's a selfish wish, but Tenten is her friend and absolutely gorgeous besides; to the point where Sakura's entirely sure she has a crush on her. It's almost unfair, how soundly she's entrenched in her type - Ino, Sasuke, Tenten, they're _all_ gorgeous people. She kind of hates it.)

Regardless, it's up to Sakura and Sakura alone to get Shikamaru to do things he really, _really_ doesn't want to do; which in all honesty, is borderline impossible. She's not going to give up, though - Shikamaru is her friend; and friends don't let friends get chewed out by Mitarashi Anko for not finishing their potions homework on time. Honestly, who let that woman teach - she's a deranged menace, even if she is weirdly good at her job.

"Shika," Sakura whines, pouting at him - which yes, is probably (most definitely) not going to work, but Sakura is reaching the limits of her patience and she might as well try everything, right? "C'mon! If you get chewed out by Anko-sensei, you'll complain for _ages_."

"You don't have to listen to me," Shikamaru points out, not looking up from his book - which is a book on fucking _chess strategies_ and not the goddamn Arithmancy book she _knows_ he's supposed to be reading right now. _Why does he procrastinate so goddamn much?_ Sakura would _die_ if she had the amount of overdue work Shikamaru does. "It's my problem if Anko-sensei is mad, after all. Troublesome woman."

Sakura sighs, looks at him where he lies by the main window in the tower and thinks. Shikamaru's a genius, she _knows_ that, but he's a lazy one. It's not a great combo when it comes to getting homework and other assignments in on time. He spends too much time playing chess, napping and cloud-gazing and not enough time _working_.

Which gives her the best idea.

"Do you want to go cloud-gazing?"

He's startled when he looks at her, but he agrees quickly. No-one ever wants to cloud-gaze with Nara Shikamaru, except, perhaps, for Chouji; but the Nara and Akamichi families are extraordinarily close-knit, even for pure-blooded families with neighbouring compounds and it is likely the two were childhood friends. Or, in other words, Shikamaru is the least lazy she's ever seen him all because she wants to _cloud-gaze_ with him. It's absurd, in a way that makes a sick kind of sense. People only ever bother Shikamaru when they want help or when they're bored, and when Ravenclaws are bored they don't tend to be very nice.

(Sakura has some first-hand experience with this - girls in older years calling her things like "billboard brow". It was only her friendship with Ino that saved her, and when that had failed her, she had been strong enough to stand up by herself. She still wishes to mend her friendship with Ino, though, regardless of her relatively newfound ability to cast a bat-bogey hex - which, if she says so herself, is a pretty damn good bat-bogey hex. Those bullies can _suck it,_  suck the bats flying out of their damn noses.)

Which is what makes offering to cloud-gaze with him the perfect incentive.

* * *

Shikamaru wanders out of the Ravenclaw tower at a pace that is both faster and _bouncier,_ somehow, than usual. Sakura follows, watches as he finds a spot by the lake and lies down with his book by his side. She flops down next to him, letting out a quiet _oomph_ as she lands, and basks in the sun on her face and the grass tickling her skin. It's not something she gets to do often, and now, sitting here, she wonders why. It's not like there's anything _stopping_ her from coming out here to study more often.

"Hey Shika," she says, quiet and tentative, "Can I study with you outside more often?"

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru sighs, but when he turns his head to look at her his lips have quirked into a smile. "It's not like it'd be that much of a drag, so sure, I guess."

"Not that much of a drag?" Sakura practically shrieks, launching herself across the grass at her new study-partner. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru goes with the flow of things - _literally_ rolling with her punches. None of them are designed to really hurt him, and before long, he lets out a soft chuckle.

"Well," he says, "You're entertaining, to say the least - if a little tiresome."

"You use words like tiresome to show affection, don't you," Sakura says, making no move to shift from her spot splayed out across Shikamaru's stomach. The Nara sighs, offering a half-hearted glare.

"Troublesome woman," he repeats, but it's kinder, somehow, this time. Almost as if before, he had meant it as an observation; whereas this time it was intended to be a compliment. She nudges him, her shoulder digging into his side and he squirms, groaning at her. Sakura laughs, bright and warm, surrounded by the warmth of Shikamaru's stomach and the similar warmth of the sun, and the cool freshness of the grass by the side of the great lake.

* * *

"Shika," Sakura whines, once again spread out across the lawn by the Great Lake, "I don't get it."

"What don't you get?" He asks, scribbling something down on his parchment - something that, had it occurred two weeks ago, Sakura would have cried in relief, because _Shikamaru's doing his homework_ \- and rolling sideways slightly so that his hip bumps into her.

She throws her hands into the air, leans into Shikamaru and says, "Everything!"

Shikamaru groans quietly, rolls onto his back and sits up, nudging her with an elbow to ensure she follows suit. "Show me." Sakura sighs, drops her essay into Shikamaru's lap and sits up as he picks up the parchment.

She watches him as he reads over it, smiling softly. "Who knew offering to cloud-gaze with you would get you so motivated," she says, nudging him lightly. Shikamaru snorts, leans heavy against her shoulder and waves the essay in her face.

"You're fine," he says, "on track. Do the use of aconite in potions, next, Anko-sensei will murder you if you leave it out."

(Sakura doesn't miss that he avoided her question, but that's okay because it wasn't really a question anyway.)

"Let's do this more often," she says, watches as Shikamaru visibly lights up at the prospect.

Yeah, she's definitely going to be doing this more often.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this months ago for the Expecto Patronum Zine, but here it is, finally going up! I hope you guys enjoy it.


End file.
